The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to systems and methods for changing operator preferences of a medical system.
A medical system is typically operated by users (or operators) that have been trained for the medical system and, in some cases, specifically trained in a certain application of that imaging system. Such systems include medical imaging systems, such as an ultrasound system, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, computed tomography (CT) system, positron emission tomography (PET) system, and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system. An ultrasound system typically includes an ultrasound probe that is applied to a patient's body and a workstation that is operably coupled to the probe. The probe transmits and receives ultrasound signals that are processed into an ultrasound image. The workstation may show the operator the ultrasound image and may enable the operator to control operation of the probe. To this end, the workstation may have a user interface that includes user-selectable elements (e.g., tangible or virtual knobs, levers, tabs, buttons, and the like) for controlling operation of the ultrasound system.
In some clinical environments (e.g., hospital, doctor's office, and the like), a single ultrasound system may be used to examine several people in a day and/or may be used in different types of examinations. By way of example only, a single ultrasound imaging system may be used to image a baby in a woman's uterus, to image various organs in a patient's abdomen, to image the heart, or to image different parts of the vascular system. Moreover, a single ultrasound system may be used by a number of different operators. Each of the operators may prefer different settings for operating the ultrasound system.
Because medical systems may be accessed by different users, it is desirable that the medical systems protect patient privacy and do not compromise security of the enterprise. For example, systems that allow access to patient data should be consistent with regulatory requirements, such as those relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Thus, it is desirable to limit access to the medical systems to those users that are authorized. Conventional systems require each user to take time and interact with the system. For example, it may be necessary for the user to login using a username and password. After confirming the username and password are correct, the system may then allow the user access to the system. In some cases, it may take time for the system to load the desired programs.
In addition to the above, an operator of an ultrasound system may have to change one or more settings of the ultrasound system or to select a different workflow for the ultrasound system. Even when an ultrasound system is exclusively used for a particular examination (e.g., echocardiograms) different operators of the ultrasound system may have different preferred settings. Such preferences may affect the quality of images and/or may affect usability of the ultrasound system. However, changing the settings of an ultrasound system may be time consuming and, in some cases, a user may not be able to remember the different settings that he or she prefers until the user has already begun an examination.